


Seasons Come One After Another

by ArinaMaron



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Post-War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-20
Updated: 2017-05-25
Packaged: 2018-09-25 19:32:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9840806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArinaMaron/pseuds/ArinaMaron
Summary: History tends to repeat itself. After a C-rank mission quickly turns into an A-ranked one, Sakura becomes a prisoner after saving her students. Now, while plotting her escape she remembers the days that led up to this moment, hoping to see again the people that are important to her and the man she loves. KakaSaku, Post war AU.





	1. Bells

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Can you really destroy a mountain with your fist?" Kenji asked, earning a chuckle from the pink haired woman.
> 
> "A mountain is a bit exaggerated."
> 
> "And what about the time when you created a canyon?" Mirai continued.
> 
> The kind of rumors that circulated about her really concerned Sakura. Sure, she was a quite powerful ninja, and she could destroy bigger rocks, and she could create huge crack on the earth, but these urban legends that people spread were ridiculous. Well, at least this explains the lack of dates she had in these past couple of months. Who would want a girlfriend who could obliterate a mountain?

When a 12 years old Haruno Sakura thought about where she would be at the age of 20, she always saw herself as the content wife of Uchiha Sasuke. They would probably have a little boy by then, who would look exactly like his father and would have a baby sister on her way soon. This thought alone made the young girl squeal in delight every time she ended up fantasizing about it.

At 16, she didn't want to become Sasuke's wife anymore. The realization that he didn't hesitate even the slightest to kill her hit her so hard, that any romantic feelings she had towards him evaporated. Now, she just wanted to bring him back to Konoha. She imagined herself to be a successful medic nin and a kunoichi regarded as a formidable enemy in every bingo book around the continent at the beginning of her 20s. Oh yes, and her having more curves.

At 18, with a war behind her back, she just wanted to make sure that all of her loved ones would be safe. The epidemic that followed the war killed many people… including her parents. The grief that she felt back then was immense. Not even the pain of being impaled by Sasori could rival it. She thought that this pain will never subside, not even in two years, so she didn't have any future aspirations.

At 20, Haruno Sakura's life was different in many aspects than her past selves imagined it to be. She wasn't married, not even engaged, but had a quite stable relationship with someone. The man wasn't Sasuke though. Her opinion on having children at this time of her life was certainly different as well. She wanted to have children, but couldn't picture herself with a baby currently. Her training under Tsunade finished two years ago, her mentor stating that there was nothing left for her to teach.

After Kakashi became Hokage, Team 7 got disbanded, each member going their separate ways. Sasuke left the village together with Naruto, travelling around the continent, gaining new experiences. Though neither Kakashi, nor the council was delighted by their plan, they couldn't really do much when it came to the most powerful ninja. Sai and Yamato went back to Anbu, the two constantly going on dangerous missions. After the war, a lot has changed; the nations ceased their fighting against each other and started working together in order to erase rouge ninjas.

And Sakura? She was currently in a very precarious situation. Each and every part of her body hurt, like never before. Slowly, she opened her eyes, taking in her surroundings. She was alone in a dimly lit room, its brick walls looking shabby with not even one window on them. The only entrance was a metal door at the other side of the cell. Sakura was sitting on the concrete floor, her hand stretched out, bound to the wall. She tried to run chakra in her fists, probing the restraints, letting out a wince when she felt searing hot pain course through her veins. The shackles repelled chakra, great. Her mind started sketching plans of her escape, but their level of efficiency was really low, since she barely knew anything about the place she was held as prisoner.

She hoped that the midgets weren't captured, but she immediately shook her head at the thought. They did not get captured. She gave them enough time to distance themselves from the enemy ninja, and hopefully by this time they already crossed the border of Fire. They'll find an outpost immediately and then alert Konoha about their botched mission.

But what if not? What if they sent another unit after them and they got captured, even…no. That won't happen, that _can't_ happen, she'd be devastated if it really happened. Who knew that she'd grow so fond of this trio of midgets?

* * *

_6 months earlier…_

"You give me a what?" Green eyes widened at the words of the silver haired man sitting in front of her.

"A genin team." Kakashi stated drolly, his demeanour urging the young woman to punch him. Too bad that causing any kind of physical harm to the Hokage outside of training was considered felony.

"A teacher? Me? But I've got a hospital to run and-"

"Both Tsunade and I think that you need a change of scenery."

"What…" Sakura felt her jaw slacken and her usually fully stocked arsenal of words disappearing. "What do you mean about change of scenery?"

She could feel the relaxedness around Kakashi change as he leaned forward in his seat, elbows resting on the top of his crowded desk.

"Having a nervous breakdown in the middle of the hospital's hall can raise a lot of brows, Sakura."

Ah.

It being one of the most embarrassing moments in her life, her consciousness tried to bury that certain memory as deep as she could. Too bad that _some_ people didn't think like that.

"It's complicated." Green eyes looked to the side, not wanting to keep eye contact with her superior. This whole conversation was starting to get more and more awkward.

"Of course it is, that's why you'll have some off time. You know, to sort things out."

"Do I have a say in this?"

"No. And before you try: don't make me pull the boss card."

Sakura sucked in her breath, counting to ten in her head.

" _Don't punch him. Don't punch him. Don't punch him. Don't punch him."_ She repeated the words like it was an actual prayer used by some new age religious cult.

"I hate you." She stormed out, slamming the door behind her for emphasis. After all, if she couldn't cause physical harm to her _beloved_ Hokage, then she could at least to inanimate objects.

One day later she waited for her students at training ground number three, sitting against one of the wooden posts, a folder in her lap. Her green eyes scanned the information written on the parchments about the three members of her new team. It wasn't like she didn't read the damn document the night before. _Twice_. And before anyone would misinterpret her actions: Sakura wasn't nervous; she only thought that as a good ninja, her duty was to know the enemy.

Nishimura Akira was 12 years old, had unruly brown hair and forest green eyes. His graduation scores seemed to be average, only his genjutsu skills seemed to be worth noting. The boy comes from a civilian family which moved to Konoha before his birth from the countryside.

Yamamoto Kenji, a blonde haired and grey eyed boy of 13 years. He barely passed his tests, only his taijutsu skills helped him at graduating with an acceptable score. It was quite surprising, considering the fact, that both of his parents were highly capable jonin.

Kusakabe Mirai, the only female genin in her team could be considered a prodigy. She graduated the academy at the age of 10 with flying colors. With her being the first ninja in her civilian family was even more admirable. And she didn't lack in the beauty department: her violet hair and amber eyes made her an exotic beauty, and she was even taller than her male teammates.

All in all, Team 5 could be considered average, but with some softening around the edges, they can become a really good team. If they pass her test. A devilish grin appeared on her face as she fished out a pair of silver bells from her pocket. She couldn't wait to see the look on their face when she tells them the rules. Sakura stood up the moment she saw the kids approaching, putting the bells back in her pocket.

"Hello, I'm Haruno Sakura, your teacher." She stood up and smiled at the three genin. They returned her greeting with introducing themselves to her and bowing when they finished.

" _Good, at least they are polite."_

"Do you have any questions?"

"Can you really destroy a mountain with your fist?" Kenji asked, earning a chuckle from the pink haired woman.

"A mountain is a bit exaggerated."

"And what about the time when you created a canyon?" Mirai continued.

The kind of rumors that circulated about her really concerned Sakura. Sure, she was a quite powerful ninja, and she could destroy bigger rocks, and she could create huge crack on the earth, but these urban legends that people spread were ridiculous. Well, at least this explains the lack of dates she had in these past couple of months. Who would want a girlfriend who could obliterate a mountain?

"Well, now that we cleared out some rumors, how about you share a few things about yourself?" Her pupils stood in complete silence, all looking at their feet. "Come on, don't be afraid. Mirai, please tell us something about yourself."

"Well." The girl chewed on her lower lip, practically whispering while she talked. "I like to read books about ninjutsu…and sometimes about famous ninja…" She squeezed her hands so tightly that her fingers became red. "That's all I can tell you about myself."

"Akira?"

"Um…" He rubbed the back of his head. "I like fishing and hunting…my father sometimes takes me with him."

"And what about you, Kenji?" All eyes set on the blonde.

"I don't like to talk about myself." Kenji mumbled, folding his arms under his chest.

"How about just a little bit? Like what's your favorite color?" But Sakura didn't get a response from him.

"Oh, come on man." Akira was annoyed to say the least.

"I said that I don't want to tell anything."

"'Oooh, I want to be a mysterious guy.' Quit being such a tryhard."

"What did you say?"

"Were you too busy brooding?"

The two boys started a glaring match, and had it not been for her quick intervention, they would've started a brawl. She grabbed their ears and pulled as hard as she could, without ripping them off their head.

Great. Absolutely fantastic. She has a genius who seems like she can faint the moment she has to talk to someone, a boy who likes to start fights and one that is too busy being an emo. Sakura secretly wished that they would fail the test, so she wouldn't have to deal with them.

"If you start a fight again, I'll make you run a hundred laps around the city. Do you understand?"

"Ouch!" They both cried, trying to remove her hands.

"Do. You. Understand?" She pulled harder.

"Yes." They replied in unison. Sakura let go, the boys falling on the ground and rubbing their ear with a pained look on their faces.

"You can't do this!" Akira glared.

"Trust me; you don't want to find out what I _can_ do to you." Her voice was menacing and it really pleased her that it worked on the kids as well. Ah, she'll be such a good teacher. "Now that we introduced ourselves, it's time to get serious." Sakura chirped, her complete change in demeanour surprising her future students.

"Are we going already on a mission?" Akira inquired enthusiastically, already forgetting about his aching ear.

"No. You still have to pass a test in order to become members of a team."

"What?!" All three of them asked in unison.

It was really entertaining to see their shocked faces. She and the boys might have looked the same when Kakashi announced their impending test. At least this explains the reason why Kakashi was such a sadist to them during their genin years. She might actually enjoy this teaching stuff.

"The rules are really simple. You have to obtain one of these bells before sundown." She showed them the two bells. "Fail the test, and you go straight back to the Academy."

"But…there are just two bells…and there's three of us." Mirai trailed off.

"Not everyone graduates the Academy straight away. Good luck!" She disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving three confused children behind

* * *


	2. That Certain Mission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was quite ridiculous how her genin team was a replica of Team 7. They might not be an exact carbon copy, but the resemblance in certain aspects creeped the hell out of her.

Her reminiscence was cut short when a noise filled the silence of her surroundings. At first it was faint, but the stillness of the prison magnified it tenfold. The sound was getting closer and closer to her cell, and it wasn't pleasant at all. The metal door opened swiftly, a woman entering. She had dark blue hair, tied in a tight ponytail, her inky black eyes shining viciously. Her black tank top and pants clung to her like second skin, the heels of her knee high boots echoing in the small chamber. But her heels weren't what made the extremely annoying noise; it was the metal chair which was being dragged along the concrete floor. Smiling, the woman stopped only a few feet in front of her, straddling the chair and folding her arms on its back.

"Hello there." Her smile widened, but the cruelty in her eyes didn't flicker even a bit. "My name is Hinami, nice to meet you." Sakura sent only a glare in her direction, not really in for pleasantries. "What about you? Who are you?" The pinkette's scowl didn't falter, earning a frown from Hinami. "Now, there's no reason for you to be like this." She fished out a kunai from the pouch near her waist. "I'm trying to approach you as politely as possible." Hinami started picking out the dirt from under her nails with the kunai, her voice as casual as if they were talking about the weather.

"You know, this is the least you could do, after we were so kind as to patch you up. Though I told my healers not to overexert themselves, can't let them risk their health for a stranger, you know."

"I didn't ask for it." Her demeanor didn't change even the slightest.

"Oh, we are feisty I see." The woman smirked devilishly. "I suppose you don't want to tell me any kind of information about yourself, huh?" Hinami sighed upon her lack of response. "Your future depends on how you cooperate with us. Pretty simple, don't you think?"

"So, since you have yet to introduce yourself to me, how about we start with that?" Her smile creeped the hell out of Sakura, she didn't have to be a genius to know that the woman was a complete wacko. "At first your stubbornness was really cute, but it's starting to get boring. Don't make this situation any harder for yourself." Hinami stood up from her seat, squatting next to her prisoner. "It would make me so sad to hurt you." She pouted.

The blue haired woman waited for a few seconds, then stood up once again, her back against Sakura. She turned, kicking her in the stomach. All the air escaped Sakura's body and she found herself gasping for it seconds later. Yes, she has been kicked in the stomach many times during her years as a ninja, but the adrenalin of a battle always subdued the pain, and she was prepared for getting hurt during those times. But this…she was quite sure that her captor's boots had metal in them.

"To be honest, I'm tired of talking by myself." Hinami stated darkly, folding her arms under her chest. "Either you open up your mouth or you'll suffer even more. And trust me, this little kick would feel like a pat on the back compared to what awaits you."

"I have nothing to tell you." Sakura stated after finally getting some oxygen in her lungs.

"Oh, yes you do. Like…" She tapped her chin with a perfectly manicured finger. "Why did you cross the border?" Hinami's eyes narrowed, voice hard.

* * *

 

_Eight days ago…_

It was quite ridiculous how her genin team was a replica of Team 7. They might not be an exact carbon copy, but the resemblance in certain aspects creeped the hell out of her.

At first glance, Kenji seemed to be the Sasuke of Team 5. He was handsome, silent and the girls of their generation seemed to swoon whenever his gaze landed on them. But one look on his academic grades and the difference was evident. She thought that the boy was a hopeless case, but she soon got proven wrong. Kenji had the knowledge and the talent to be a good ninja, but he didn't have the desire to perform. It was almost like the pressure his parents put on him crushed the young boy's resolve. It took Sakura a few weeks to figure out that he had potential; it was only up to her to bring out the best of him. It was hard, but the results were rewarding: Kenji opened up not just to her, but to his teammates as well, and his relationship with Akira normalized too.

And then there was little Mirai…not considering her height. Sakura was reluctant to accept such a young child into her team. Sure, it was not uncommon for ninja to graduate from the Academy at such a young age: Kakashi at 5, Itachi at 7 and the list goes on. Results? Well, she doesn't have to further elaborate on that. With the formation of the Shinobi Union, there weren't any major conflicts on the continent since the Fourth Shinobi World War, hence there was no need for children to grow up faster and become killing machines before they even reached puberty. But she could see the reason why the Academy let the girl graduate so fast: being way smarter than kids your age tended to cause problems. Sakura didn't know how severely was the girl bullied, but it was enough for the teacher's board to get concerned. Mirai was an introvert, not really used to socializing with other people. And while she lacked in her people skills, she had all when it came to be a shinobi. The chakra control she possessed was more than admirable, she could become an excellent medic nin in the future, if she wants to of course.

While Akira had a stable family background and he wasn't as big of a knucklehead as a certain blonde, he still resembled Naruto in a certain way. They were stubborn, hot headed and not afraid to speak their mind. But Akira was better at chakra controlling and even though he had average skills in ninjutsu and taijutsu, his proficiency in genjutsu was really impressive for a genin. Still, Sakura was really concerned about the boy. With Kenji having his own issues, and Mirai being the prodigy that she is, the pink haired woman worried that she won't have enough time and energy to give him the attention he needed. In Team 7 Sakura was the one who had a good family background, had no emotional scars and seemingly no potential, although the latter was mostly because she cared more about her looks than improving her skills. Still, it was partly due to her being uninteresting and average that she got ignored by Kakashi. He had his hands full with the boys and her lack of determination made him forget about Sakura. In the beginning his ignorance towards her was hurtful; sometimes she wished that he would pay attention to her just a little bit more. But now that she looks back at those times, she's actually grateful…she would've never sought out Tsunade had he acted differently.

"According to your progress reports, the team is eligible for this year's chuunin exams." Kakashi stated, holding the reports Sakura gave him a few days ago.

"Cool." Akira grinned, earning a disapproving look from his teacher.

"As to further assess your capabilities, I'm sending Team 5 on a C ranked mission to the Land of Canyons."

"But-" Sakura was about to protest, but her genins beat her.

"Awesome!"

"It will be a simple escort mission." The Hokage fished out a scroll from one of the drawers of his desk, handing it over to Sakura, but she didn't accept it.

"Can I have a word with you, Hokage-sama?" The dark tone she used made her students stop cheering, blinking up at her.

"Of course."

"I'll see you outside, midgets." They all sent her a resentful look, but left the office shortly. She waited for the door to shut before starting to speak again. "I don't think that they are prepared to leave the country borders yet."

"I beg to differ. And I quote:" Kakashi waved the report in front of her face. " 'Each student is progressing really well, having already mastered most of the essential D-ranked jutsus and a few C-ranked ones as well.'" Her fist felt the undeniable desire of connecting with his face and erasing that smug smile of his, even visible from underneath is mask.

"Oh, if you like to quote my report so much, then would you please do so with the last paragraph as well? _Hokage-sama_."

Kakashi cleared his throat, doing what his former student asked him to. " 'Although they are highly capable separately, their teamwork leaves much to be desired.' "He trailed off, putting the paper back down. "Sakura, with this mission they can actually practice working together as a team."

"Of course, it's really nice and all…but to Canyon? Really?" She threw her hands in the air out of exasperation.

The small countries that bordered the Great Nations were always a hotspot for rogue groups, not to mention that with the formation of the Union their numbers in said countries rose drastically. The Land of Canyons, which was bordered by Waterfall in the North, Fire in the East, Grass in the South and Earth in the North-West, was probably the worst place when it came to travel security. The small country had succumbed to political instability after a coup removed its king, Takeda Nobuhiro, with thousands of civilians fleeing to the surrounding countries, and rogue groups vandalizing the villages. The newly formed militaristic government failed to get rid of the rogues, or just didn't care at all about the safety of the citizens.

Even setting a foot inside the country could be considered dangerous. Sakura heard a few anecdotes about how paranoid the government was when it came to ninja from other countries crossing the border. They saw everyone as a potential enemy, ready to overthrow the régime. Not to mention that there have been rumors about Takeda's daughter, who fled the country before she could've gotten captured, is raising an army to regain control. It was an understatement that the country was a hot mess. Canyon was no place for a genin team, even if they had a jounin sensei with them, and the mission ranking was just C.

"The situation there isn't as bad as some portray it to be."

"Of course."

"May I remind you that Team 7's first real mission was in Wave?" Kakashi raised a silver brow.

"And that turned out wonderfully." Sighing, he stood up from his seat and walked over to the pink haired woman, stopping a few inches away from her.

"I know why you are so concerned, Sakura. You are afraid that you won't be able to protect them."

"I…" She averted her gaze, biting down on her lower lip.

"Everything's going to be okay." Kakashi put his right hand on her shoulder and brushed her jaw with his other one. "If you can't protect them, then no one can. The mere fact that you are this worried shows that you are going to make sure that they are going to be safe with you."

"Thanks." She smiled wryly, looking up at him.

"Here." He handed over the scroll to her. "Your mission starts in two days; you'll have to escort two merchants to the capital."

"Okay." She put the piece of parchment in her pouch, preparing to leave.

An escort mission with two civilians and three midgets? It was going to be a wonderful mission! Not.

* * *


	3. Nursing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Ah! No…Please don't…NO!" Sakura's whole body stiffened upon hearing the chilling screams of a man in the distance.
> 
> Will she be like this in a few days too? She barely vocalized her pain during interrogation, but she was fairly sure that Hinami was going easy on her. Will she be able to stay quiet even if she's a sobbing mass of blood and bruises?

He sat inside his office, with a crumpled piece of paper in front of him, his hands grabbing onto his silver hair. It was such a short, dry message, yet it made him feel a rush of so many emotions. Despair. Anger. Guilt. These were just a few, and though they were not new to him, he never felt them this intensely before.

He should've never sent them on that damned mission. She was against it the very moment he announced their departure, yet he still persuaded her. It was all his fault. Why was it that everything he touched, everything he became to love crumbled?

The sound of commotion from the outside brought him out of his reverie. His office's door opened seconds later, with Naruto, Sai and Ino entering.

"Is it really true?" Kakashi didn't have to confirm what Naruto meant with his question. New sure traveled fast in Konoha…

"Yes." He tried to seem unaffected by all of this. He was the Hokage; his personal feelings should never get entwined with his work. He needs to be professional.

"We are going after her, right? We _are_ going to save her."

"I already contacted our spy in Canyon; his intel should be on my desk in a few hours."

" _Few hours_?" Ino threw her hands in the air.

"We can't start a mission before we have enough information. As of right now, we have no idea about her whereabouts, or what happened exactly on the mission. Her students would be arriving shortly, so they can debrief us."

"We should be already heading towards that stupid country!" Naruto slammed his palms on the surface of Kakashi's desk.

"Hold your horses!" Kakashi raised his voice, not being able to keep his temper in check. "I want to go and save her as well, but we can't just act without a cohesive plan." His eyes were hard.

Naruto withdrew his hands from the desk, clearing his throat. "Sorry sensei."

"What happened exactly?" Sai spoke up after a few seconds of silence. Though most of the time he looked indifferent to everything around him, even he looked distraught by the news.

"Her team told only the bare minimum to the outpost that sent us the message. It seems that the people they were escorting were lying about their identity and the soldiers patrolling the main roads found them. They were outnumbered and Sakura stayed behind so that her team could get a head start." Each word he uttered made Kakashi feel guiltier.

"How come you didn't know that the merchant set us up?" Ino folded her arms under her chest, her blue eyes bearing holes into him.

"Our checkups didn't show anything unusual… This probably wasn't their first time doing something like this."

"It's just like our first mission to Wind." Naruto mumbled.

The uneasy parallels between those two missions didn't miss Kakashi's attention. Both times the person they had to escort lied, which then brought a chain of events that almost ended with their deaths. Back then he blamed himself for not seeing from the start that something was off about the whole mission. When things went south he did everything in his power in order to save his students, just like Sakura. And while he felt enormous pride that the pink haired woman did everything to ensure the safety of the genin entrusted to her, something that a good teacher should do, a sense of trepidation filled his being as well. While his former student often scolded him for being reckless, she wasn't different from him when push came to shove.

" _But she's a smart girl; she can take care of herself way better than you ever could."_ A small voice would whisper in the back of his mind when his thoughts wandered onto this dangerous route.

"What if they didn't capture her? I mean there could still be a possibility that she's on her way towards Fire." Though Ino's words were filled with hope, the emotions on her face did not convey any of that.

Kakashi looked at the clock mounted on the wall of his office, only one and a half an hour had passed since they received the news about the unsuccessful mission, which meant that the three genin arrived to the outpost approximately three hours ago. And while Sakura could travel much faster than any genin, they should consider the fact that her chakra levels might be depleted, not to mention that she surely spent an extended amount of time fighting. So, there was still the chance that the pinkette was still on her way towards the border. But with each passing second the validity of this theory was decreasing… Still, they were all hoping that someone would barge inside the office any time now, with the news of Sakura crossing the border of Fire safely.

They had a long day ahead of them.

….

Her entire body was pulsating with pain after her pleasant "session" with Hinami. The woman exited her cell a few minutes ago, leaving a bloodied and bruised Sakura behind. It was quite hard for the pink haired kunoichi to tell if the blood that coated her lips was from the cut on her upper lip, or from her possibly broken nose, since her cell did not have a mirror in it, just some good old chains that ate away at her chakra.

She wanted to pat herself on the shoulder for withstanding everything Hinami did to her in the past hours. Her lips stayed sealed, sans for the few times she graced her interrogator with a few snide remarks. This cost her busted lips, a semi broken nose, at least three broken ribs and a badly bruised stomach. Hinami promised her even more fun for tomorrow if she's still silent. The only problem was that Sakura wasn't confident in her ability to withstand pain for an elongated period of time. Though shielding those two lying bastards who set them up wasn't in her interest, she still had to hide from which hidden village she came from. If her captors found out that she was from Fire, they might even declare war, which then would catch the attention of the other Union members. The Union that reached to the consensus not to interfere with the inner politics of Canyon, so her presence here would most certainly lead to problems.

"Ah! No…Please don't…NO!" Sakura's whole body stiffened upon hearing the chilling screams of a man in the distance.

Will she be like this in a few days too? She barely vocalized her pain during interrogation, but she was fairly sure that Hinami was going easy on her. Will she be able to stay quiet even if she's a sobbing mass of blood and bruises?

"Now, now, don't be such a pessimist." She scolded herself. "Happy memories. I need happy memories." Sakura closed her eyes, resting the back of her head against the wall behind her.

…

_5 days ago…_

The moment she closed her apartment's door behind her, Sakura started discarding her clothes one by one while walking towards her bathroom. Her hallway got littered with clothes stained with sweat and dirt, courtesy of her training with her students. This was their last one before the mission, so she rehearsed every important jutsu and formation with them.

By the time she reached her living room, she was naked. Her stomach growled, reminding her that she had yet to eat something substantial today. But she was covered in dust and sweat, so there was no way she would sit down and eat like this. Sighing, she headed towards her bathroom.

Fifteen minutes and a hot shower later the pink haired woman emerged from her bathroom, clad in a black tank top and pink boyshorts. The dark reality of not having anything remotely edible in her fridge hit her quite hard. Muttering some illegible curses, she pulled out a pan from one of her cupboards, preparing to make an omelet before she died of starvation.

Though it might catch a few people by surprise, Sakura was a fairly decent cook. Before her parent's passing away, she couldn't tell the difference between a spoon and a spatula, her mother being the one who always prepared the meals for the family. The hospital's canteen offered the most disgusting food she ever tasted, and during her travels around the continent she had her fair share of culinary experiences. Moreover she did not have enough money to buy healthy take outs on a daily basis, and the cheap fast food that some restaurants offered were out of the question. So, in the end she had no other choice than to learn how to cook. A few burns and destroyed pans later she started to get the gist of this whole cooking business, even starting to enjoy it.

So here she was, cutting up tomatoes and shaking her buttocks to some music she put on. Sakura started to sing the chorus, while adding the tomatoes to the sizzling hot frying pan. She continued her dance, fetching a spatula from one of the drawers. Her fingers started spinning around the object as she walked back to the stove. Before she could completely register what was happening, she already threw the utensil at the slightly moving figure in her peripheral vision. Sakura's body tensed, ready to attack the intruder, but keeping in mind not to make extensive damage inside her apartment, after all her landlord would probably kill her.

"Yo." She deflated instantly.

"You know, it would be refreshing if you knocked once in a while."

"But that would be so boring, Sakura-chan! Besides, I would've missed your performance." He threw back the spatula with a smug smile on his face. Sakura was so flustered by what her guest said that she almost didn't catch it.

"To what do I owe the presence of the Hokage?" The pinkette tried to act as dignified as she could, but her barely there clothing didn't help her case at all. He just chuckled at her question, leaning against the doorframe of the kitchen. It was fairly unusual for her to see him without his usual white garbs, not to mention that his mask was nowhere to be seen. Sakura always had to remind him to get rid of it when it was only the two of them.

"I think something is starting to burn." Kakashi sniffed, straitening up a bit to see over her shoulders.

"Nonononononono!" She turned off the stove, inspecting the half charred bits of tomatoes.

"Well, that doesn't look too good." He hummed; his breath tickling her neck and her shoulder. Sakura did not dare to turn around, since she most probably would be only mere inches away from his face. It was a known fact between the two of them that her clever comebacks always went on an extended holiday when he was too close to her. And that bastard always took advantage of it.

"You do know that this was your fault."

"I highly doubt that." Hi rested his chin on her shoulder, his chest flush against her back. "How about we order takeout?"

"I would probably die of starvation before the food gets here."

"What if the food is already here?" In that moment she completely forgot about how close he was to her, because Sakura could only concentrate on two words: food and here. She turned around in an instant, practically showing Kakashi away and strode towards the paper bag that was on the top of her dining table.

The closer she got, the more intense did the delicious smell of tempura and grilled vegetables become. She probably even left a trail of saliva on her floorboards, but she didn't care. Food was finally only at arm's length from her. The pinkette was about to open the bag, when a hand snatched it away from the table.

"What now?!" She practically growled at the man.

"I didn't say that I would share it with you. And after your physical _assault_ on me, I'm contemplating on not doing so." He started grinning as an incredulous look appeared on her face.

After a long bout of silence Sakura reacted. "Assault?"

"Assault. You trampled on my foot. I'm probably going to get a bruise there; maybe I'll even end up limping."

"Oh my!" She covered her mouth with her hand, feigning shock. Knowing far too well that the only way she could get food was if she played along, she continued. "Is there anything I could do?"

"Well, I highly doubt that I can walk back home, so maybe I'll have to stay the night. One shouldn't magnify their injuries, you know." He responded sagely, earning a snort from her. To think that Hatake Kakashi would be the one to give her a lecture about being careful with injuries. It was as absurd as the color of the sky being green.

"You are right, good thing that I have enough room for treating injured people."

"And maybe you should spend the night beside me…to monitor my condition." Kakashi put the bag back on the table, wrapping his arms around her waist. "After all, the first few hours are the most critical." He was about to kiss her, when she ducked and wiggled out of his hold. A few seconds later Sakura was digging through the contents of the bag, humming in approval with every container she pulled out. Her love for the man pretty much doubled seeing all the food he had brought.

"You are my savior! Thanks!" Sakura kissed his cheek while on her way to fetch some plates and chopsticks. "I'll surely nurse you back to health." She winked, handing him a plate and a pair of chopsticks.

They ate in silence, only breaking it once in a while to ask or answer some questions about how was their day.

"How about we go public with our relationship?" Kakashi asked all of a sudden, making her choke on her food.

"What?" Sakura wheezed, drinking a whole glass of water. He was about to stand up and rush to her side, but she waved him off. "Don't worry…I was just surprised." She smiled wryly.

Actually, surprised wasn't the word she wanted to use, stupefied was more like it. And no matter how tempting it was for her to express it, she stayed cool. One not carefully thought over word and she might falsely alarm Kakashi.

"And…how did you reach to this conclusion?" She asked after a few seconds, playing with the corner of a napkin.

"I just want to tell the world that we are together." He worded carefully, earning an unimpressed look from the woman sitting in front of him. "Well…it might have something to do with the fact that the council is adamant on me getting married by the end of the year."

"Oh." Once in a while he would mention the matchmaking effort of the two old people. And while he always had a joking undertone to his voice, he was more serious right now. "Do you want to get married?"

She wouldn't say that she minded if his answer was a yes. While Sakura was never well versed in the dating department, she was quite sure that she would never have the kind of dynamic that she has with Kakashi with anyone else. For a mere onlooker they might seem to be the most unlikely couple, but in all honesty they were quite similar in many things. It would be a lie to say that she never imagined being his wife.

"No! I mean…maybe sometime in the future. All I want right now is for them to finally leave me alone with those stupid catalogues filled with eligible bachelorette's."

"There's actually a catalogue for that?" She asked incredulously.

"Yes. My point is that it's getting harder and harder to keep it as a secret. Today I spent an hour or so explaining to Naruto why I couldn't have dinner with him today, when I could've told him outright that I'm going to see you. And the list could go on and on. In these past few months we made tremendous efforts to keep our relationship a secret."

One might ask the reason why they choose to keep their relationship behind closed doors. When they started dating Kakashi was already Hokage, while Sakura was a jonin candidate. They wanted to wait with the announcement until some time passed after her promotion, since some might think that she used him to advance in her career. And by the time she became a jonin they started enjoying the challenge to keep everything a secret. They treated it as a game and laughed at their friends who had no clue about the two of them. But their amusement was short lived; suddenly everyone wanted to interfere with their love life, constantly trying to find them a significant other. It became more and more annoying as weeks passed by and they both just got tired of it.

"I guess you are right."

"I know that it'll be hard in the beginning. Probably the whole village will talk about it; there will be even people who would frown upon it. But I'm sure that those who are the closest to us will accept that we are together. That or we'll just have to find new friends." He smiled sheepishly while saying the last sentence.

Leaning forward, she grabbed one of his hands. "I'm sure they will understand it." At least she hoped so. Swallowing the lump that formed in her throat, she continued. "We'll tell them after I come back. It won't be more than two weeks I'm sure."

"Okay." He squeezed her hand with a small smile.

After all two weeks tend to pass so fast, right?

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you really much for reading! Not the best ending, but if I continued on the chapter would've been reeeeeally long.
> 
> Thanks to everyone who gave kudos and commented!


	4. Formation E (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Someone of your calibre most certainly has a significant other, right?"
> 
> "If I tell you that I do have someone, will your shower of compliments cease?"
> 
> Kisuke leaned closer to where she was squatting, clearly entertained by their conversation. "Would it bother you?"

Uneasiness filled her whole being the moment she heard the screeching sound approaching. Hinami was coming to visit her again. The cell's door opened a few moments later, her captor entering with a grin.

"Good morning!" Hinami chirped. "Nice day, eh?" She sat down on the chair, a few steps away from Sakura. "How are you feeling today…Haruno-san?" Sakura's eyes widened at the mention of her name. "Surprised, eh? I had a hunch from the start that it was you. A pink haired kunoichi who's excelling in taijustu with superhuman strength, also an excellent medic…" Hinami counted off the facts on her fingers. "It doesn't take a genius to recognize someone with such a special skillset."

"Oh, and there's a wonderful picture of you inside the bingo book! Do you know how much you are worth? Twenty million ryo, can you believe it?!" To be honest, Sakura was a bit proud that some would pay this much in order for her to be liquidated, though this amount paled in comparison to that of Naruto or Kakashi.

"I could buy a whole new set of these babies!" Hinami fished out a kunai from the pouch at her waist. "They get worn out so fast because of daily use." She smirked. The woman leaned back in her seat, crossing her legs and arms.

"You know, I don't really understand the reason why a genin team was sent on this mission. You either underestimated us tremendously, or your dear clients misled you into believing that it wasn't higher than a C-rank." Hinami tapped her chin, giving the impression that she was deep in thought. "But knowing you Konoha nin, it was possibly the latter one, huh?" She had a mocking undertone to her voice. "Our dear little Keisuke deceived you. It wasn't nice of him, if you ask me. But then again, it wasn't nice of you to cross the country border without permission either." A devious look appeared on her face.

"My men are currently tracking down your little ninja wannabes." A cunning smile graced Hinami's lips when she saw the angry look on Sakura's face. "I'd really like to meet them. I absolutely _love_ the way kids cry."

"If you as much as lay a finger on them I'll-" The pinkette gritted.

"You what? Punch me? Cut my throat open? Tear me into pieces?" She leaned forward, only inches away from her prisoner's face. "Please do tell me." The hint of enthusiasm in her voice was just oil on the fire.

"Fuck you." Sakura head butted the woman as hard as she could. The aftermath of the impact left both of them seeing stars. Neither of them groaned in pain, the cramped space being filled with a pregnant pause.

"Oh my God!" Hinami started laughing, rubbing her forehead. "You don't really use that bright mind of yours for thinking, do you?" She muttered, grabbing Sakura's blood stained hair and yanking her head backwards. Her neck was completely exposed to her captor, the pinkette expecting Hinami to use her kunai, but nothing happened. "You are really lucky that I like you, Cherry. I didn't have this much fun in a _long_ time."

She let go of Sakura's hair, pushing the woman away, the back of her head colliding with the wall behind her.

"Now, I think that we should start sharing some things with each other…mainly on your side I guess."

"I have nothing to share with you." Sakura spat, her vision still blurry from her earlier assault on the blue haired woman.

"Oh yes you do. Both my boss and I think that you know quite a lot about our dear Keisuke and his plans for the future. I mean, you might not know every little detail, but still have something to tell me. Like where they are headed, who's the Crow and maybe even his hideout. Your input would help us _tremendously_."

"I know nothing."

"How unfortunate. Then how about I refresh your memories?" The surface of the woman's kunai shone viciously despite the fact that the cell was barely lit. Sakura didn't bat an eye as the blade became closer and closer to her skin. Giving even a hint of fear or pain would bring tremendous joy to her captor, and she won't let that happen. "Let's have some fun, eh?"

…

The remaining members of Team 5 arrived six hours after Konoha received the message about their unsuccessful mission. Kakashi had yet to receive any information about the whereabouts of Sakura from their spy and with the clock ticking it was getting more and more plausible that she got captured.

The three genin looked shaken, their eyes never leaving the carpeted floor of his office. But who could blame them? Ever since the formation of the Alliance, not even the majority of freshly promoted chuunin have experienced the loss of a teammate. And now these three genin might have to face the reality of losing their teacher on their first ever mission.

Kenji, the eldest of the three finally looked at him, his hands fisting by his sides, eyes hard.

"The so called merchant was a ninja in disguise." The boy stated.

…

_Five days ago_

The members of Team 5 waited patiently for the merchant at the gate of Konoha, well at least some of them did.

"Where the hell is he?" Akira growled, kicking a pebble. Kenji just rolled his eyes at his teammate's antics, while Mirai seemed so engulfed in the book she was reading, that she probably didn't even notice what was happening.

"Be patient, midget. They still have five minutes left to arrive on time." Sakura muttered, checking her wristwatch to confirm. With being the teammate of a constantly late Hatake Kakashi for several years, she became more tolerant when it came to punctuality. This meant that she didn't even get fazed when someone was late a good ten minutes or so.

"If we have to wait even one more minute-"

"Then we'll wait." The pink haired woman looked at her student sternly. "Please be polite, they are paying for our services after all."

She was starting to appreciate Kakashi for not killing them during their genin years. If they were half as bad as these three, and she was quite sure that they were thrice as frustrating, then she felt really sorry for him. Oh, how much she misses her paperwork filled days back at the hospital.

"I think they are coming." Kenji said, squinting at the two figures in the distance.

"Finally! It's about damn time!" Akira muttered, fastening the straps of his backpack.

"Are you Team 5?" The older man out of the two merchants asked them once they arrived. Since Canyon didn't treat any shinobi that stepped into their country with hospitality, Sakura's team decided to wear civilian clothes. She even made a point to hide her pink hair and Yin seal with a grey scarf wrapped around her head and shoulders.

"Yes. I'm Haruno Sakura, nice to meet you." She smiled, extending her hand to the man in front of her.

"I'm Kisuke and he's Satoshi." He shook her hand while pointing at this younger companion.

The black haired and eyed Kisuke looked only a few years older than her and was about the same height as Kakashi. Satoshi on the other hand was more closer to Kenji and Akira age wise, though his short brown hair and violet eyes did little to erase his feminine features. She was sure that the boy broke quite a few hearts, and by the blushing look Mirai gave him, he already had his new victim. Hopefully the girl won't be as annoying as she was during her crush on Sasuke.

"I suggest we get going and I'll tell you the plans on the way." She said, already walking towards the gate.

Their first few days of travelling were relatively uneventful. During her small chats with Kisuke she learned that he and his nephew made a living out of trading all kinds of goods between the smaller countries and the Five Great Nations. They recently finished dropping off a bigger load of tea from the Land of Tea to Wave, and wanted to sign an exclusive trading contract with Canyon by the end of the month. As much as she hated to admit, the midgets fared quite well up until now. Well, not considering the obligatory quarrels between Kenji and Akira, and the doe eyes Mirai had when looking at Satoshi.

Everything changed the moment they crossed the border of Canyon. Much to their surprise during their one day trip already away from the border, they had yet to meet with military patrolling the region or rogue ninja. It was as if they never even left Fire, and this was deeply unsettling for Sakura. Usually if something was way more peaceful than expected, it did not stay like that for far too long, and it usually ended in extreme mess. Hopefully she was just far too paranoid. If only.

After a long day of walk they were setting up camp for the night, the midgets securing the perimeter of the camp while she and Kisuke collected twigs for the fire.

"So, are you _the_ Haruno Sakura who fought in the war?" He asked, adjusting the pile of twigs in his hands.

"Yes I am. For a civilian you are quite well informed." She chuckled. "I think we have enough wood. Let's head back to camp."

"Well, you saved the world, so it would be really ignorant on my part not to know your name." Kisuke smiled.

One would think that after the war each and every person who contributed to victory would be raised on a pedestal and respected by everyone. Well, this was somewhat a mistake. Since most shinobi participated in the war only those who did something extraordinary or became a victim were remembered. The enormous monuments in each hidden village showed the statue of every shinobi that gave their life for the cause, but they were only visited by close friends and family, the civilians would often just walk past by them. And even if you did something great and managed to survive the war, there was a chance that the civilian population wouldn't have even the slightest of ideas about your existence. There were just too many heroes to remember, so the public only talked about the truly remarkable ones. That's what happened to her. People only talked about Naruto and Sasuke, and occasionally about Kakashi because he was the Hokage.

It would be a blatant lie to deny that it didn't hurt. During her lowest times she would often count the moments when without her help all three of them would've died a dozen of times. That she was there fighting with them until the last moment, giving in all of her chakra without a second of hesitation.

But while she wasn't recognized as a war hero by your usual civilian, her medical achievements were well known thanks to the many people she snatched away from death. Each thankful smile she received from these people made her forget the initial bitterness she felt.

"Besides, you are prettier than those three everyone is talking about." He winked at her. In all honesty, Kisuke was quite handsome. Had it not been for the fact that she was already in a relationship with Kakashi, she would've certainly returned the flirting.

They dropped the twigs in a neat pile once they arrived back to camp. Sakura started preparing the fire, while Kisuke sat down on the ground next to her.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" She stopped cutting up the twigs into smaller pieces with her kunai for a few seconds, but continued on.

"What an interesting change of topics." Her comment earned a chuckle from him.

"Someone of your calibre most certainly has a significant other, right?"

"If I tell you that I do have someone, will your shower of compliments cease?"

Kisuke leaned closer to where she was squatting, clearly entertained by their conversation. "Would it bother you?"

"Why are you so curious all of a sudden?"

"This is the first time that I've met a kunoichi…and I was just wondering about things."

"And?"

"Are you going to reply with questions from now on?" He laughed.

"Do you mind?" Her green eyes glanced at his sitting form.

Kisuke grabbed a twig and broke off a piece from it. "Not really, but the conversation won't be fruitful if we continue on like this."

"Point taken."

"Is your boyfriend a ninja as well?"

Sakura just sighed at his question. "You are not going to leave me alone until I answer, huh?"

"No." He grinned, throwing the piece of wood away.

"He's a ninja too."

"How long have you been together?"

"Look, I don't want to sound rude or anything, but my private life is not the kind of subject I like to talk about with strangers."

And it was true for people she knew as well. Ever since she and Kakashi got together, she found herself being overly protective of her love life. Not even the ever so curious Ino managed to get anything out of her; this was a feat that Sakura was the most proud of. Her current mentality about such kind of secrecy was a complete 180 compared to her time as a genin. During her younger years she was quite vocal about whom she loved. She often wondered that if her significant other wouldn't be Kakashi, her strive for privacy would be the same or not. Probably not. But the age gap between the two of them and him being her superior was something that greatly complicated their situation.

The problem with the age gap was a constant worry for Kakashi, while it didn't bother her that much. She thought that age didn't matter once you found the person who truly made you feel better about yourself. She would often exemplify her thoughts with her dysfunctional relationship –if it could even be considered one– with Sasuke. But then the possible accusations of nepotism always made her hesitate in announcing that they were an item. Kakashi would often tease her about it, saying that nobody would think that, since she earned all of her merits because of her capabilities and not because she crawled into his bed.

Kisuke raised both of his hands in defense, sporting an innocent look on his face. "Sorry for bothering you. I just wanted to have a chat instead of awkward silence."

She looked at him unimpressed, quite sure that the reason why he chose that exact way of wording was to evoke some kind of remorse in her. Sakura wanted to tell him that he made the silence between them awkward thanks to his incessant interrogation, but she didn't want to have an argument with the man. Having a conflict with the client in the middle of the mission would highly jeopardize their success.

"What about you Kisuke, do _you_ have someone in your life?" She asked him instead, almost finished with setting up the fire.

"Ah…I wouldn't say that. Being constantly on the road isn't favorable for any kind of relationship." Kisuke mused, spinning the branch between his fingers.

Upon hearing the sound of multiple footfalls approaching, Sakura snapped her head into the general direction of the noise, but lowered her guard once her students and Satoshi came into view.

"We secured the perimeter, Sakura-sensei." Kenji stated.

"Good, let's have dinner then." She smiled, lighting the fire.

An hour later and with everyone's stomach full, she assigned who would be keeping guard that night. Mirai would start the watch, and then she would be followed by Kenji and Sakura respectively. While the point of changing guards in every three hours was so that everyone would have a decent night's sleep, Sakura just couldn't bring herself to sleep that night. She was lying on her left side, facing Kisuke who had his back against a nearby tree and seemed to be having problems with sleep as well.

In the same moment Sakura wanted to lay on her back, she saw a pinecone falling off the branch of the tree Kisuke was sitting against. The cone would've hit the man square in the head, but he reached up with his hand with such deftness, that he caught it before any harm could happen. Kisuke observed it, and then threw it away with an annoyed look on his face.

Sakura furrowed her brows, a sense of alarm emerging quickly. That speed…a normal civilian could never move that fast, not to mention sense the fall of such a small object. And this was most certainly not just a lucky catch; the pinecone should've hit Kisuke on the head before he could even react. Unless…

What if Kisuke was a ninja and not just an ordinary merchant? Sakura suddenly felt a surge of anger filling her whole being, because if she was right, they were set up by these two. But then again it might be just a coincidence, a really unlikely one but she still has to make sure. Slowly, she slid a senbon out from the holster next to her head, carefully observing if Kisuke had seen her. Once her fingers were wrapped around the thin needle, she threw it towards the man, aiming at his upper arm. He caught the senbon before it could embed itself in his arm, his eyes narrowing once they met Sakura's.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry for taking so long to update... Also, the ending might seem a bit abrupt, but the chapter would've been at least twice as long... On the positive side, this means that the next update will come in a few days! I would also like to say sorry for making the build up this long, but I don't want to leave any major plot holes.
> 
> Thank you for the kudos and comment!


	5. Formation E (Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura's chest heaved as she tried to gain back the precious oxygen that escaped because of the kick. While she still had plenty of chakra left, she knew that drawing out the battle any longer would not be in her favor. She might only have three opponents left, but she barely had any information about how were they faring internally because of the battle, not to mention that with each ticking minute, the chances of their reinforcements showing up was getting higher.

They both jumped to their feet, weapons ready for attack. "Who the hell are you?" Sakura spat.

Upon hearing the commotion, the three genin and the other "civilian" woke up, bearing their respective weapons in their hands. Satoshi slowly inched closer to Kisuke, but was stopped by Akira.

"Don't you even dare." The boy growled.

"What's happening Sensei?" Kenji glanced at the older woman from the corner of his eyes, while keeping a careful look at Satoshi.

"Our two companions seem to have some explaining to do."

"How about we have a nice and calm conversation, Sakura-san?" Kisuke smiled, but the hostile air around him didn't disappear. "I don't think that a full on battle would be appropriate considering the circumstances."

While she hated to admit it, even in her head, the man was right. Having a battle in the middle of a mission which's main factor was secrecy didn't add up quite well. But then again, she had a feeling that this whole conflict won't be solved without the exchange of a few kunais.

"All right then. Talk." Her voice was steady, void of emotions.

"So straightforward, Sakura-san." Kisuke teased, the amused tone of his words never reaching his eyes.

"Keisuke!" It didn't faze Sakura at all that he was using an alias, after all it was in the job description of every dirty liar. What did surprise her was the high pitched voice that Satoshi used. So, to make things even more interesting, the handsome boy was a girl actually.

"Don't worry." The man looked at his companion, sporting a reassuring smile. He then shifted his gaze back to Sakura. "I guess this means that our deal is void, right?"

"You are coming with us back to Konoha."

"Why do we have to?"

"You misled us into believing that you were just mere civilians. The Union members sustain the right to interrogate those who provided false information about the mission. It was in the contract that you signed."

"Oh, silly me!" His voice was airy, like he was talking about leaving the stove on before leaving home. "Unfortunately I cannot let that happen." The kunai with the exploding tag that he dispatched after finishing his sentence didn't catch Sakura off guard, but the smoke that resulted after made it impossible for her to see where they were headed. At least it was nice of him to throw the tag far enough away from them that nobody would get injured.

"Bastard!" She heard Akira shout.

"Everyone, stay where you are." Sakura shouted to her students, the smoke slowly drifting away.

"But sensei, we could still catch them. It's not too late." Mirai argued. The girl was right, the two barely got any head start, and with her recently developed jutsu it would be a piece of cake to track them down. The only problem was that the explosion certainly brought some unwanted attention onto them.

"Yes, we could. Unfortunately the mission ranking has just changed from C to A."

"What?"

"The explosion must've been heard by everyone in at least a mile wide radius. We should head back home before any of the local forces could arrive here. It would be a waste of precious time to chase those two down. Our main objective was to _escort_ two civilians and protect them from a few rogues, _not_ getting into a fight with local authorities."

"Wonderful." Kenji waved away the thin sheet of smoke that wafted around him.

"We leave our baggage behind, only bring the bare necessities. It is important that we travel light." Sakura squatted down in front of her backpack, pulling out a spare holster of kunais and shuriken from it and strapping it on the belt around her waist. Her students did the same, strapping their respective holsters on. After activating a jutsu that destroyed their remaining belongings around camp, they started sprinting in Konoha's direction.

"Do we have a chance to get back unnoticed?" Her only female student asked.

"Maybe." Though Sakura never had the pleasure to experience firsthand the capabilities of Canyon nin, it was a well-known fact that they were not one to be messed with. Since the government was really paranoid of the chance that the princess who escaped would be supported by the Union, they had no other choice than to produce the best shinobi. There were even rumors about experiments that would make even Orochimaru blush. In all honesty, she did not want to meet them on a mission with her genin.

The shadowy figures that moved in the distance did not escape her attention. Only fifteen minutes have passed since the explosion, and they already got tracked down by the enemy. Six to seven people were following them on both sides, their figures becoming closer. It was clear that they were trying to encircle them, blocking any chance for escape. The cogs in her brain started moving, desperate to come up with some kind of plan. It was only a question of time before the enemy made a move.

"Sensei, they found us." Kenji picked up his pace so that they were running next to each other.

"I know."

"What are we going to do now?" Sakura bit her lower lip, running all kinds of scenarios in her head. Avoiding a confrontation was impossible, the only thing she could manipulate are the events that would lead up to battle.

"Increase speed!" She told her students. They'll have to put some distance between them and the Canyon nin for her plan. While most ninja could run long distances with high speed, it was not practical on the long run. That' probably the reason why their pursuers didn't increase their speed as well, they knew that her team's speed would lessen eventually. "Stop!" Sakura ordered once they were far enough.

"Are we going to fight them?" Akira asked, showing a brave face, though his body language spoke otherwise. He tried to reduce the shaking in his hands by fisting them, but they still trembled. Kenji and Mirai were already holding their weapons, but they looked nervous too. While as a teacher it was her duty to help her students' transition from standard training routines into participating in real battles, this situation was not suitable for it. Knowing the enemy's and the three genin's capabilities, the odds were not in the favor of her students. Right now gaining experience was far less important than to ensure the safety of the midgets.

"Formation E!" Sakura barked, putting on her leather gloves.

"What? But sensei!" Akira protested. "You'll-"

"Formation E." Her voice was stricter than before; she'll have to get through with her plan.

"Guys, we can't do this!" Akira looked at his team members, trying to convince them. They were both staring at the ground intently. "Guys…"

"Sakura-sensei is right, Akira-kun." Mirai's knuckles were white on both sides. "Our chances of survival are far greater if we use Formation E."

Akira had a betrayed look on his face. "What if I help sensei-"

"You'll be a burden." Kenji stated drily. "You won't have a chance making out alive, both of you." Akira felt like being punched by the blonde's words. He hated being this weak; he hated leaving someone behind, especially Sakura-sensei.

"Kids, they are almost here." Their leader's hands were fisted, the leather of her gloves threatening to pop.

Mirai raised her hands in front of her face, silent tears streaming down her cheeks. She formed the tiger seal for her jutsu, focusing her chakra. "Be careful sensei." Her voice was hoarse.

Sakura turned her head sideways, looking at them. "Don't worry; we'll meet in a while, okay?" She smiled at them reassuringly. They all knew that what she said won't become true, but tried to foolishly believe otherwise.

Suddenly six men, all clad in black appeared in front of them. "Now!" Sakura shouted, channeling chakra into her fists.

"Kirigakure no Jutsu!" Mist came out from Mirai's mouth, soon surrounding them from each and every direction. The three genin jumped up on the trees and ran as fast as they could, away from the upcoming battle.

Sakura's senses heightened once the foggy cloak surrounded her. The enemy around her didn't make a move, which slightly aggravated the pink haired kunoichi. But now was not the time to be impatient and to act rashly. They were waiting for her to make a move, probably in order to assess her capabilities. Her body hummed with the anticipation of the oncoming fight. It's been such a long time since she last participated in a serious battle; she was both excited and terrified.

One of the men who were standing in her blind spot charged, thinking that his attack would catch her completely off guard. His face connected with her chakra infused fist, sending him flying in the opposite direction. The cracking sound his cheekbones made upon impact could be heard clearly in the stillness of the night. His body fell limply down on the grass covered ground.

While she easily defeated one member of the ensemble, she had a feeling that the rest wouldn't go down so easily. Usually teams sent in the weaker member as bait in order to see what trick the enemy had up their sleeve. Well, she had plenty of surprises left for the other five men too. Sakura concentrated her chakra into her right hand, a chakra blade forming seconds later. Since she could easily manipulate its length and shape, it was the perfect weapon for combat. Her second opponent easily deflected her attack with his kunai, but the kunoichi didn't give up. She forced her hand downwards, combining her strength and the sharpness of the blade in order to destroy the kunai. Thin cracks appeared on the metal's surface, spreading like a spider's web. It would only take a matter of seconds before the kunai shattered into tiny pieces.

Sakura heard the sound of a shuriken piercing through the air towards her. Cursing, she leaned backwards, just in time to avoid being decapitated. She did a backwards summersault, distancing herself from her second opponent. While straightening up, her left hand touched her cheek, where the blade of the shuriken made contact with her skin and drew blood. It was only a minor cut, but even this could prove to be lethal if it got in contact with poison. The pink haired woman kept her gaze on the five men, while running a scan thru her system for any trace of poison. Luckily, it seemed like shuriken wasn't coated with anything.

This close call was enough to make her sober up and realize that it was time for her to bring out the big guns. Opponent nr. two threw away his kunai, pulling out another one from the holster on his thigh, while the other four men came even closer to where she was standing.

Sakura infused her legs with chakra, jumping up high in the air, and formed the seals of the Earth Release: Stone Pillar Prison technique. Several pillars emerged from the ground, surrounding her enemies from each possible direction and trapping them. She landed on one of the branches thickly surrounded by leaves and out of the view of the men. Next, she made a clone and left it standing on the branch, while Sakura used the Hidden Mole Jutsu and hid underground, waiting for the right moment to strike. A few of the pillars were soon broken down, Opponent nr. three and four jumping up to the branch her clone was standing on, engaging in hand-to-hand combat. The tree they were fighting on broke in two when clone Sakura punched its trunk. When one of the pillars stopped the tree from falling completely onto the ground, her clone sprinted towards the top part, jumping from one pillar top to the other, avoiding the two men's attacks. When Opponent nr. four was close enough, she engulfed her right hand with a chakra blade and slashed forward, cutting a long vertical line into his chest, effectively bisecting his lung and pulmonary artery. Due to severe pain, he lost his footing and fell down between two pillars. Her clone wasn't prepared for the next attack that came a split second later, dissipating in a puff of smoke once Opponent nr. five's ninjato pierced her through the stomach.

Using the disappearance of her clone as a diversion, Sakura reached up with her hand from under the ground, grabbing Opponent nr. six's ankle and pulling him under and snapped his neck. While she could still remain underground, she decided to come back to the surface, since maintaining her position there needed much chakra, and it slowly started to become a scarce commodity.

Her lithe figure landed on the trunk of the fallen tree, green eyes surveying the surroundings. All the remaining three enemies stood on the top of their respective pillars, their ninjatos drawn and pointing at her. She formed chakra blades on both her hands, and with a strong kick against the trunk she leapt towards them. Opponent nr. five met her head on, the force of their collision almost making her lose her footing. She tried to stab him in the side with her other blade, but he kicked her away before she could succeed. She slid a few feet backwards, her blades digging into the earth pillars on her two sides.

Sakura's chest heaved as she tried to gain back the precious oxygen that escaped because of the kick. While she still had plenty of chakra left, she knew that drawing out the battle any longer would not be in her favor. She might only have three opponents left, but she barely had any information about how were they faring internally because of the battle, not to mention that with each ticking minute, the chances of their reinforcements showing up was getting higher.

Opponent nr. five jumped down to the ground, rushing towards her with incredible speed. She blocked his attack by crossing her two blades together, and then pushed him backwards by increasing the power in her arms. He swung his sword at her again, this time almost cutting her thigh. She used that exact moment to land a chakra infused kick into his kneecap, earning a pained howl from him. The man completely lost his footing and fell on his knees, making it far too easy for her to deal the final blow…unfortunately his other two teammates thought otherwise.

Had it not been for the signature cackling sound of lightning approaching, they would've incapacitated Sakura in a matter of seconds. The two men were running towards her with a stretched out net made of lightning. During her time as a kunoichi she has never seen something like this before, and she had to admit that it looked quite impressive. There was just no way for her to escape from this attack unscathed, due to the short distance between them. Not to mention that it seemed like the two of them could easily manipulate the size and shape of the net at their will.

As a desperate mean to escape her fate, she punched the ground below her, creating enormous cracks around her and sending huge chunks of earth up in the air. She saw the two men losing their balance, before a cloak of dust surrounded her surroundings. The only sound that could be heard for a good minute was the one the chunks of earth made upon falling back.

Now was probably the time for her to leave. Sakura started forming the seals to make two clones in order to divide the attention of her pursuers. Although it was far too early for her to celebrate any kind of victory, the kunoichi could feel a surge of relief wash over her being.

Maybe she could really keep her promise to the midgets.

She was quite sure that she could've easily dodged the ninjato that flew her way, had her chain of thoughts stayed on the battle. The blade flew towards her with such velocity and power that it pinned her to the tree behind her. Sakura let out a muffled scream, her left hand reaching up to the hilt in order to pull the weapon out from her right shoulder. The healing chakra she sent towards the wound got repelled each time, like there was some kind of barrier that obstructed the flow of her energy.

Poison. The blade was coated with a special kind of poison that closed down the chakra paths at a rapid pace. The only thing she could do right now was to pull out the weapon and try to flee. It was a futile attempt of her though, because she got pinned down so strongly, that she couldn't remove it without the use of chakra. It was beginning to get harder for Sakura to hold herself upwards at the speed the poison was spreading. The last thing she saw before blacking out was the complacent smirk Opponent nr. five sported.

…

_Present._

Sakura drew out her options…not that she had many. The jounin tried to be as emotionally withdrawn as possible; there was no room for sentiments right now. Even one slight flicker of hope could change the course of her thoughts, causing her a lapse in judgment, which could result in a really, really bad outcome.

If the midgets managed to escape and travelled at full speed towards Fire, it would take them about half a day to cross the border and find the closest outpost, then another hour for the bird to reach Konoha with the news of the unsuccessful mission. Upon hearing this, the Hokage would immediately contact the head of intelligence department of ANBU, in order to see if they had further information about the current situation in Canyon. _If_ they had a spy inside the country…this kind of information was so confidential, that only the Hokage and head of intelligence from ANBU knew.

Assuming they had one, it would take from several hours up to one day to contact the spy and get the necessary information, depending on how deep undercover he or she was. Usually the Hokage would send out the recue team before getting the necessary information, sending the exact parameters of the mission while they were still traveling. Of course this depended on how urgent the situation was. So…if everything went according to her expectations and calculations…adding together the time they got informed of her capture, then getting the bare minimum of intel, forming the strategy, dispatching the rescue team, the amount of time it took said team to reach Canyon, locate her and infiltrate…

Green eyes started squinting, deep in concentration. "Four to five days." A cold weight of anxiety forming in the pit of her stomach. "That's too long." She croaked, resting her head against the wall behind her.

They'll never find her alive, if Hinami's hospitality was any clue. She already several broken bones and wounds. Not to mention that her calculations were based on a _really_ optimistic situation.

 _If_ the midgets got caught before they reached the outpost, it would take Konoha at least a week to even _consider_ that something went wrong. If Konoha didn't have a spy inside the country, it was plausible that they wouldn't send anyone on the mission. They won't sacrifice a four or three men cell for the life of one kunoichi, if they didn't have the bare minimum of intel to go by. Sending a team onto unknown territory, without any sort of information about where to find the person they needed to save was just stupid. And they wouldn't do it even if said captured kunoichi was Haruno Sakura. It was standard protocol.

So, she was screwed either way.

Good thing that she had one other option. If she couldn't count on being saved, then she has to escape by herself.

A vicious grin graced her chapped lips.

She was too old to play the damsel in distress anyways.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the continuation of the previous chapter! Hopefully the action sequence didn't seem far too dull or unrealistic...
> 
> Thanks to everyone who read, commented and gave kudos!
> 
> Happy Easter to everyone!


	6. Srings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There was just no way for her to get out of this alive. Who was she kidding? All the fear she kept repressed came crawling back, choking her.

Kakashi stood in front of four monitors, trying to act as calm as possible. Not even 24 hours have passed since he learned about what happened to Sakura, news surely travelled fast on the continent. The four Kage looked at him expectantly, like it was him in the first place to announce the necessity of the gathering. He might as well start speaking.

"I can assure you that we are not taking part in the rebellion in Canyon." He stated simply, earning a sneer from the Tsuchikage. It wasn't a surprise that the ever so sceptic and accusing Onoki was not pleased. He could only hope that the rest of his audience would be more reasonable. If only.

"There's no need for you to outright lie about it, Hatake. We have information about the fact that Haruno Sakura and her team escorted princess Sayako and Tanabe Keisuke inside Canyon. If you are providing military help to them, it means that you are sympathizing with their cause and violating the terms of the Union." The eldest of the five Kage stated, hitting the surface of his desk with the tip of his index finger each time he finished a sentence.

"It was a misunderstanding. The two posed as simple merchants and used fake ID's. We thought that they are mere civilians asking for our help in order to have a safe journey to their destination. Haruno Sakura has been captured by Canyon authorities and as of now we do not have precise information about her whereabouts." It took all of his concentration not to shout at the older man.

"According to our intel, someone going by the name of Crow is leading the insurgence." Mei, the Mizukage waved a piece of paper in front of the camera, as if to prove that she had clear facts. "Pale skin, black hair, red eyes…" She cited dramatically. "Could this be an Uchiha?"

"Do you know the whereabouts of the Uchiha?" A asked, anger already showing on his face. The man was still not a fan of the last Sharingan user, but who could blame him?

"We do not keep tabs on Uchiha Sasuke…that was part of our agreement with him."

"And unofficially?" The only indication that Gaara raised his nonexistent brow was the way his love tattoo moved a bit higher on his forehead.

"He went under the radar seven months ago…the last time our spies located him he was in Ame."

"That's only a stone's throw away from Canyon." The only woman participating in the conversation mumbled.

The silver haired man knew the direction this chain of thought was heading. Of course Konoha had some vague information about the rebellious group inside Canyon, and that someone going by the name of Crow was at the forefront of it all. He even toyed with the thought that this person was the sole remaining Uchiha. But then there were so many counter arguments: Sasuke left the village in order to "find" himself, citing that he only wanted to experience the world that was finally at peace. In the first year of his soul searching, he was accompanied by Naruto. While neither him, nor the members of the council were delighted to hear that, they had no other choice than to accept their decision. Nothing peculiar happened during that one year, or after Naruto left the Uchiha alone. According to the reports he once in a while got from the shinobi observing Sasuke, his usual routine was to visit secluded settlements and experience life there, not staying more than two weeks at one place. He would never initiate fights, only engaging if he got attacked directly. There haven't been a sighting of his Sharingan in _years_. It seemed like Uchiha Sasuke had no interest whatsoever in politics or shinobi affairs.

"You might suspect him to be behind this, but this does not suit his recent behavioral pattern." Kakashi spoke up before Mizukage's chain of thoughts could lead to a false conclusion.

"Would you bet your life on it, Hatake?" A raised an inquisitive brow. The silence that followed his question was all the Raikage needed as a confirmation. If even his old Sensei and current Hokage couldn't trust the brat, then who could possibly?

"We are straying too far away from the initial topic of this meeting!" Onoki scoffed. "The question of whether Konoha should be punished by the Union is still open." Kakashi tried to control his expression, he really did, but this was just too much. The annoyed look he sent his way earned a 'tsk' from the elder.

"I believe that Hatake-san is telling the truth." Gaara spoke up. "We shouldn't act like none of us have ever been deceived by our contractors. It is a common occurrence even with the constant background checks. It would be really sad to have this carefully built peace between the five nations crumble because of such trivial things." The Tsuchikage was about to voice his displeasure yet again, but Gaara ignored him. "It is a problem that Canyon now thinks that we interfered in their politics, and it is worrisome that there's some unknown person raising an army, so we should focus our resources on solving these than to waste time with bickering."

"Kazekage-sama is right." Mei nodded. "Our predecessors spent too much time with accusations and squabbles, and we know what that lead to. Our world almost got destroyed, while we were unable to see the obvious signs that lead to it." It was a relief that at least some people were reasonable enough to believe what Kakashi said. It would be a lie to say that he didn't feel nauseous when the thought of a serious conflict emerging between the members of the Union emerged.

"I have to agree with you on this, but that brat has to be found. If he really is a member of the insurgence, you do know what the end will be, Hatake."

"Yes, Raikage-sama. I believe that there would be no turning back for him then." If the rumors were really true, Kakashi highly doubted that he would stand beside the Uchiha. One chance. Everyone in Konoha, and even the surrounding nations gave Sasuke one more chance. They erased all the red notes on his ledger, giving him the opportunity to start anew. He could still clearly remember all those arguments Team 7 had with practically every official authority in order to save his former student. Their throats became practically raw with all the screaming and talking during that time, but they eventually succeeded. Uchiha Sasuke was granted clemency, on the sole condition that if he slips up, being it one day or 20 years later, he'll get executed. And they all agreed to it. Kakashi will do everything in his power to stop him if needed.

"So, how much do you know about the whereabouts of Sakura-san?" Gaara asked.

Kakashi didn't even need the aide of any sort of paper to refresh his knowledge; he read the sentences over and over again after receiving the report. He could remember even the position of the commas. As if knowing the text by heart would make it easier for him to rescue her.

"She fought a patrolling troop before getting captured. After that she got transported to one of the prisons in the area, but we still don't know to which one." His jaw was set, trying to control the fury that slowly emerged. If he was a regular jonin, he could already be turning upside down each prison in Canyon, but instead he has to stay in Konoha. He has to wait _patiently_ as other people went and saved Sakura. His Sakura. Even though he was the most powerful shinobi in the village, Kakashi was unable to go and save the most important person in his life.

A complacent smile appeared on Onoki's face. "You won't find her in any of those prisons." He laced his wrinkly fingers on the table he was sitting at. "At the chain of mountains in the north-eastern part of the country, there's a secret jail. There's where Canyon holds their more…prominent convicts. Our spy said that Haruno Sakura is kept there. I'll send the coordinates to you."

"Thank you."

"Well, it would be a shame to lose such a capable medic."

…

It took her several hours to come up with a usable escape plan. While it was hard to tell when was night or day in a windowless cell, her internal clock was as sharp as ever. She received a meal twice a day, in approximately 12 hour intervals. They weren't fancy at all, only containing the bare minimum of nutrients in order for her chakra levels not to get dangerously low. The guards changed shift twice a day, roughly one-one and a half hour before each meal, at least the slight commotion on the corridor where her cell was situated told her so. Hinami came two to three hours after her first meal.

Her restraints were made out of steel that had the unfortunate tendency to suck out all the chakra from her body that wasn't needed to keep her alive. These kind of shackles were forged by a very capable smith, who used a special set of jutsus that enabled the metal to behave this way. But like everything, this could be outplayed as well.

During her time as an apprentice under Tsunade, Sakura was taught how to free herself from such kind of bindings. Since the stereotype of medic nin being the most vulnerable members of a standard team still ran deep, they were usually the ones targeted for kidnapping and interrogating. It was really important to get rid of the chains as soon as possible.

Sakura had to gather a certain amount of chakra and then release it bit by bit directly into the handcuffs. The bindings could take only a limited amount at once…they would break the moment they would receive too much. Maybe it was a bit tricky, since one's absolute control was needed, but it was manageable.

The pink haired medic had to stop the flow of chakra just above the handcuffs; it took all of her concentration not to let the carefully collected amount slip into the metal. She waited for the moment when the guards started their shifts, and then her escape plan was set into motion. She started releasing the chakra into the shackles, gradually increasing the amount. The metal around her wrists started burning her flesh, her brain screaming at her to stop what she was doing. If she stops, it'll take her another 2 days to harvest enough chakra to pull this move…if she'll be alive by then.

Sakura let out more and more chakra, the smell of burnt skin making her stomach churn. She bit down on her already split lip, trying to muffle the screams that escaped them. And then, she heard the most wonderful sound ever…the sound of metal shattering and falling onto the concrete floor.

Her head rested briefly against the wall behind her, catching her breath. Raising her shaking hands took her enormous effort. Green eyes inspected the imprint of the handcuffs on her singed skin. During her career as a medic, she saw several devastating injuries that would make even the most seasoned of jonins pale; Sakura felt the sudden urge to hurl. It was one thing to see someone else's injuries and another to be on the receiving end.

Sakura started breathing in and out, trying to calm herself down, having a panic attack right now would not help her cause at all. Since she had barely enough energy to even support herself on her legs, she had no other choice than to release her Yin seal. Her burnt flesh started healing the moment she poured chakra in it, easing the pain. She also started mending the broken ribs she got and the bruises that would debilitate her during a fight. While the scars that now adorned her wrists were not a pretty sight, Sakura didn't want to waste chakra on trying to erase them.

Once the pain subsided in her body, she stood up, inching towards the door of her cell. Though she had a rough idea about the time when the guards changed their shifts, she had no clue about the layout of the building or the number of staff. With the absence of these information, there was no way for her to single handedly escape from here. It seems like the time has come to use her newly developed jutsu. She formed the necessary seals, thin strands of chakra leaving her body after doing so. Through these threads she'll have a sketchy idea about the layout of the building and also about the number of people in her close vicinity.

The initial idea about this jutsu came to her during the war, but after everything that happened afterwards, she did not have the time or the energy to develop it. All changed once she was temporarily banned from the hospital and could not participate in more serious mission; she had all the time and chakra in the world. Developing a jutsu from scratch turned out to be a really tedious and frustrating work. Even though she had perfect chakra control, it took her two months to actually figure out the amount of chakra she needed to collect and release in order for the tendrils to be the exact size and length she wanted them to be. Then came the experiments about the nature of the vines and how well they could actually make her sense things even from a distance.

Three frustrating months and two completely demolished training grounds later she managed to obtain the sensory levels she wanted. Sakura wasn't able to finish the last phase of her experimentation: stealth and battle efficiency. While the strands were invisible to those who did not possess a doujutsu, if a strand latched onto a person, they inevitably felt a slight tingle or something akin to an electric shock. She could just only hope that it won't be too suspicious to the guards.

As the distance between her and the end of the strands grew by each second, the structure of the prison started becoming clear to her. Sakura's cell was situated on a narrow corridor, which reached a dead end towards her left. There were four cells on each side of the hallway, all of them being occupied by shinobis. One had to descend four flights of stairs in order to reach the cells. The stairs led to another hallway with eight cells and four flights of stairs. The same pattern got repeated three more times, before she presumably reached the top floor of the complex.

Beads of sweat were starting to form on her forehead and neck. Sakura had to concentrate really hard in order for the strings to keep working. The longer they got, the harder was it for her to control them. The longest they ever got was 2.3 kilometers, but only because she was standing in one place and didn't have any other jutsu activated. During a battle or while simply just running, the distance she could cover was barely 1 kilometer in really optimal conditions.

The top floor was practically swarming with guards. There were at least ten people there, and adding the guards stationed on every floor with cells, she was surrounded by no less than 20 enemy ninja. And there were probably even more in the outside of the complex. Unfortunately she wasn't able to extend the strings beyond the gates. At least there was no sign of Hinami.

Sakura deactivated the jutsu and knelt down on the floor, deep in thought. Even if she had her Yin seal activated, defeating 20 ninja at once would be quite the challenge. On the other hand, even if she did manage to pulverize all of them, not knowing what was past the gates was quite unsettling. A prison that had more than 10 guards could be considered a heavily guarded one. So, if this was one of those _special_ kind of jails that hosted the more serious convicts, the guards wouldn't be your average ninja either. If they were as capable as the ones she previously met, the pink haired medic was in big trouble.

For the briefest of seconds she considered not trying to break out at all. Maybe she could just stay here until someone comes and frees her. Ridiculous! She was Haruno Sakura, the second best medic in the world, the one who sucker punched a goddess! Breaking out of this prison would be a walk in the park compared to the rigorous training routines she had with Tsunade back in the day.

Sakura found herself hesitating even after her small ego trip. There was just no way for her to get out of this alive. Who was she kidding? All the fear she kept repressed came crawling back, choking her. She fell down on the floor, curling up into a ball. She had no idea about the amount of time she spent like that. It could've been hours, or only a few minutes.

Her miserable thoughts were drawn out by the commotion from outside of her cell. People were yelling and running around, their heavy footfalls reverberating off on the walls. Something big was happening.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you really much for reading! I know that it took quite some time for me to post this one, but hopefully the next one will be here sooner, and there might be some unexpected(?) character in it too. So stay tuned!
> 
> I would also like to thank everyone who commented and gave kudos!


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